Chapter 202 8. Inventory

The Battle of Shijiazhuang was another major victory after the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei People's Liberation Army won the Qingfengdian Battle.In this battle, a total of 3,156 Kuomintang troops were killed and wounded, 21,132 people below Liu Ying were captured, and a total of 24,288 people were captured. 133 guns, 745 light and heavy machine guns, 13,122 long and short guns, and a lot of ammunition were seized.The Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Field Army and military region troops were injured 5,090, killed 988, and missing 69, totaling 6,147.Since then, the two liberated areas of Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei and Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Hebei have been completely connected.

On the second day after the end of the Battle of Shijiazhuang, Zhu De sent a congratulatory message: "After only one week of fighting, Shimen was liberated and the defending enemy was wiped out. He also wrote a poem titled "Happy News Recovering Shimen": The Shimen blocked the Taihang Mountains, and the warriors opened their fingers. Exterminate all the teachers and collect the important towns, and don't teach Huma to return to Qinguan. The tactics of tackling tough problems opened up a new dimension, and the people who had been trapped for a long time moved to smile. The heroes of our party really come out in large numbers, never worry about sideburns.

On November 15, "Jinchaji Daily" published an editorial titled "Celebrate the Victory of Shijiazhuang", pointing out: "Shijiazhuang, a powerful strategic stronghold in North China, under the thunderous offensive of our Jinchaji People's Liberation Army, celebrates its liberation. The 280,000 people in Shijiazhuang have since gained democracy and freedom. The two liberated areas of Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei and Shanxi-Hebei-Luyu have been completely connected. After that, the entire strategic situation in North China will begin to change drastically. In a passive position, our People's Liberation Army has completely gained the initiative, and can continue to use and exert this initiative, which can be asserted." "If we say that the victory in the Great Annihilation Battle of Qingfengdian is already a strategic position of our army on the Jinchaji battlefield. Therefore, the victory in the Great War of Annihilation in Shijiazhuang completely confirmed this strategic position. If the previous victory had already made a great contribution to the national counter-offensive, this victory will make an even greater contribution to the national counter-offensive. great contribution."

On November 16, Xinhua News Agency released the comments of the spokesperson of the People's Liberation Army Headquarters on the victory in Shijiazhuang.The spokesman first pointed out: "This is an important victory, and it is the beginning of a series of victories in the future." In just 6 days, the city was conquered, and it only took 20 to 30 minutes to break through the enemy's first position. The morale of Jiang's army was extremely low; and the military technology of our army, thanks to the new weapons delivered by Jiang Mei , has been unprecedentedly improved." "... This situation is not far away, and the victory in Shijiazhuang itself is a beginning."

There are also several reports from foreign news agencies that are quite eye-catching: One is the news from Reuters, saying that the battle of Shijiazhuang was a "new setback" for Chiang Kai-shek. The second is a news from the United Press, saying that the Battle of Shijiazhuang was a "remarkable victory" for the PLA. The third is another news from the United Press, saying that after the liberation of Shijiazhuang, "officials of the Baoding (Jiang) Provincial Government immediately fled to Peiping by car." Chiang Kai-shek lamented: "This is the first loss of our important city. Of course it is a major loss for us!"